Addiction Recovery Program

At one of our recent missionary training meetings we were introduced to the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program.  This program has adapted the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous into a framework of the doctrines, principles, and beliefs of the church with special focus on the Atonement.  When I served as Bishop this program was just getting started.  This program is designed to help persons to be healed and cured from all manner of addictions.

Here are the 12 Steps:

#1 Honesty - Admit that you, yourself, are powerless to overcome your addictions and that your life has become unmanageable.
#2 Hope - Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.
#3 Trust in God - Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
#4 Truth - Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself.
#5 Confession - Admit to yourself, to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to proper priesthood authority, and to another person the exact nature of your wrongs.
#6 Change of Heart - Become entirely ready to have God remove all your character weaknesses.
#7 Humility - Humbly ask Heavenly Father to remove your shortcomings.
#8 Seeking Forgiveness - Make a written list of persons you have harmed and become willing to make restitution to them.
#9 Restitution and Reconciliation - Wherever possible, make direct restitution to all persons you have harmed.
#10 Daily Accountability - Continue to take personal inventory, and when you are wrong promptly admit it.
#11 Personal Revelation - Seek through prayer and meditation to know the Lord's will and to have the power to carry it out.
#12 Service - Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and practice these principles in all you do.

Many of the people the Inner City Mission that the missionaries work with are suffering from one form or another of personal addictions.  Alicia is not exception to this.  She is dealing with current addictions as well as past addictions and the consequences of her actions.  Bishop Kurger, 2 years ago encouraged her to participate in the Addiction Recovery Program.  We likewise, recently have been encouraging her as well.  We believe that because of the trust we have built with Alicia she finally agreed to participate and we took her to her first session Wednesday night.  What a special experience.  Her heart was touched, she expressed her feelings and problems to the group and is anxious to return and continue in the program.  We told her we would take her every week and support her in her recovery. 

We know that when old "scratch" as my Dad would call him, gets a hold your heart and spirit it is very hard and difficult to change.  We are beginning to see that change in Alicia.  We hope and pray that it will continue but are fully aware that there will be peaks and valleys in this process.